Minor League Baseball Denounces ‘Monkey Rodeos’ After PETA Appeal

For Immediate Release:
August 2, 2016

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Animal acts are on their way out at Minor League Baseball (MiLB) events. After receiving a letter from PETA and hearing from thousands of PETA supporters about the “monkey rodeos” that have taken place at MiLB games across the country—during which terrified capuchin monkeys are strapped or chained to dogs running up to 30 mph—MiLB President Pat O’Conner directed all MiLB clubs to review PETA’s concerns about the rodeos’ cruelty to animals and issued a statement (available here) discouraging MiLB teams from using any animals for entertainment during game-day promotions.

“When the monkeys used in these cruel rodeo-style stunts aren’t being violently and dangerously jerked up and down in front of a screaming crowd, they’re confined to cages and denied everything that’s natural and important to them,” says PETA primatologist Julia Gallucci. “Teams that ignore MiLB’s caution against these events will have to answer to a lot of angry PETA supporters.”

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment,” and more information about “monkey rodeos” is available here.